Seemingly Ordinary

Molly Cook dances for the Oklahoma City Ballet. Starting at age four, Molly has often worked at her craft for:  one to five hours a day, and fifty weeks a year. Her work ethic--and her desire to do something beautiful for the world--are deeply inspiring.  She is here with her friend, Abby Herrick, who also graduated from SJA.

(This episode was recorded on June 21, 2021.)

Abigail Herrick wrote two plays that 100% floored me. She also wrote one of the funniest speeches I’ve ever heard.  Today, we’ve going to talk about all of that, including her writing techniques—because she’s good! A deep-thinking Catholic, Abby studies English and Education. Her friend, Molly Cook, a professional dancer, is joining us for this episode, which was recorded in July 2021.

Christy Dalke has had the most incredible life for the last five years. A major life change led her to: a) Moving across the nation; b) Getting a Ph.D.; c) Switching careers; d) Dating someone great; and e) Winning a prize in a dance competition. 

Today, we’re mostly focusing on dance competition because it’s such an incredible story of a person over age 30 not just taking on something brand new, but also unlearning something at which she excelled for sixteen years. 

            Italy. Japan. Mexico. The United Kingdom. Greece. Switzerland. Austria. The Czech Republic. Netherlands. France. Iceland. Canada. Taiwan. The Philippines. Thailand. Laos. Cambodia. Kenzie Grimm traveled to 18 nations all by the time she was 23 years old! And she did it all in a very affordable way! Today, we discuss how you can add travel and adventure to your life—and do so on a college student’s budget.

Kari Kennedy Ashley co-leads a grief ministry. For anyone who has ever lost someone, this episode has a lot of helpful information. Find her at smallpiecesofjoy.wordpress.com.

(This episode was recorded on June 22, 2021.)

Emily Mushinski loves to dance and travel. In previous episodes (#15 and #23), I asked her about both because she’s led a thrilling life. She’s danced professionally in Hungary, lived in Panama, traveled to the jungle, and met snakes and monkeys. She went to college in the The Netherlands, and traveled to Ethiopia and India. 

But what is  BlinkVerse?  It's an amazing idea. Find out!

(This episode was recorded in July 2020.)

Reed Wilkinson, 21,  was mostly a nonreader in high school--but since then, he's explored everything from brilliant philosophers (Marcus Aurelius) to self-growth (Dr. Jordan Peterson); from ancient politics (Plato and Aristotle) to religion ("The Case for Christ," by Lee Strobel and "Terror of Demons" by Kennedy Hall). But the conversation really heats up when we talk about how ordinary people became mass murderers (Ordinary Men; Reserve Police Battalion 101, by Christopher Browning) and why societies collapse into monstrous, soul-crushing, family-ending dictatorships ("The Gulag Archipelago, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn). We also discuss some fiction, including "The Count of Monte Cristo," by Alexandre Dumas. Reed has learned: books can widen your world, open your eyes, and electrify your existence! May you, too, be lit on fire.

(This episode was recorded on July 29, 2021.)

Note: Originally, I uploaded the wrong episode, but I fixed this error at 1 :05 p.m. on August 13, 2021.

Dan and Rachel approached love and marriage in a fascinating way. Rock-solid, easygoing, and hard working people, their story and approach to life  is deeply inspiring. 

(This episode was recorded July 19, 2020.)

Lee Ann Ochs is the co-owner of Level-Up STEM KC, a business that helps students and schools improve their STEM skills. A mom, teacher, and entrepreneur, Lee Ann helps people all day long, on multiple levels. This episode is primarily about education, and the innovative ways Lee Ann's business helps it along.

(This episode was recorded on July 17, 2020.)

Some people don’t just attend the school of hard knocks, they get a room there and live on campus.  Kim has many crazy, funny, captivating stories. But through it all, she’s resilient.